Knights of the Realm: Book 2
by DarkLink227
Summary: In a time of great need, a hero will always rise. But what happens when the hero everyone expects, becomes the very evil he swore to destroy? A story of courage and tragedy, witness the tragic downfall of a hero, and the triumphant rise of a monster.
1. The War Cheifs

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda….but if I did, rest assured Midna and I would be making babies right this very moment.**

"When the hero everyone expects, becomes the evil that everyone hates, what could save him from how far he has fallen?"

**Knights of the Realm: Book 2**

**Episode I: The War Chiefs**

Chapter 1

Rain. Endless rain had done nothing but drench the lands of Hyrule for almost two weeks. The lands of the realm were cascaded with the tears of the heavens. It had been a time of mourning in Hyrule, and not a single man, woman, or child was spared from the sorrow.

Marcos Harkinian, the most beloved hero of the land and King of Hyrule, was dead. The official reports claim he was killed in battle during the joint campaign to overthrow Ikanian warlords in the southern regions of Hyrule. It was rumored that Igos DuIkan, King of Ikana and Harkinian's longtime friend, betrayed him to the warlords for a share in their conquered lands. However, it was shifty, for the two kings had been known friends for many years. People demanded answers, and the royal court could not give them one. Even they weren't sure as to what had truly occurred. An investigative team of Hylian Knights was called to the castle three days after the mourning had ended.

"Master Wilhs, do you think that we may be able to find out who exactly is behind the kings death?"

"Now my young apprentice, we must not jump to the conclusion that there is any conspiracy at all. It could very well be possible that he was actually killed in combat. Be patient Maiku, for not all deaths have a deep, sinister plot behind them."

"Yes Master Wilhs, I understand."

The two were truly an odd couple. Master Wilhs was a Knight of the Order of Farore who had decended directly from the line of the first King of Hyrule. As the descendant of the hero, he was charged with leading the Order of Farore just as every member of his family had done since the orders creation over two hundred years ago. Maiku was a young Zora orphan, who showed from an early age that he was quite adept in learning the powers of Tai-kus and utilizing them. Although seeing much potential in the young lad, most of his peers were skeptical that Master Wilhs would take a young Zora for his apprentice rather than a Hylian. However, Master Wilhs defended his decision by stating that they should not judge the young lad by his race, but rather by his ability to utilize his potential to further serve the land of Hyrule.

"Master Wilhs, we are approaching the castle gates" said his carriage driver. "Very well then, inform the guards of our arrival." It was truly odd to see the master of such a humble order of peacekeepers being carried in a royal coach. But on a rainy day such as this, no other way of transportation would do. "Sir, Master Kamoura and his apprentice are waiting for you in the courtyard" said one of the guards. "Thank you soldier."

Master Kamoura was quite older than Master Wilhs, and from the look of him he had a much harder time in life than any warrior of the land. At just over eighty years of age, Master Kamoura was, remarkably, still one of the fastest and most aggressive swordsmen in the land. His philosophy of "dangerous elegance" had been a popular study amongst his many apprentices. Over his life he had seen many of them grow up to be splendid swordsmen themselves, and took great pride in his teachings. As the current leader of the Order of Din, Master Kamoura was thought to be of retirement age. However, a man who loved teaching as much as he did would not stop because of old age. He decided that he would take one last apprentice, a young lad who had no recollection of his family or origins. The lad had no name, so Master Kamoura had named him Nikalai.

"You seem nervous my young apprentice, what troubles you?" asked Master to his apprentice.

"Its nothing really master, its just that Maiku is my best friend and I have not seen him for a long time, I just wonder if maybe we would be able to catch up on things…oh who am I kidding, he's the apprentice of the hero's line, he probably wants nothing to do with me now."

Master Kamoura couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "Young Nikalai, it is never a shame to admit that you care for your friends. I remember having many friends like Maiku when I was your age. You must never be nervous to see them, for your true friends will never judge you and will always be truly happy to see you. I'm sure Maiku is just as excited to see you."

"Really? You think so?" asked Nikalai somewhat nervously

"Of course my young apprentice. If he cherishes your friendship as much as you cherish his, then you two will be friends for life." As he reassured his apprentice, the coach stopped right in front of them.

"Alright Nikalai, you know as much as we both hate formalities, it is time to be serious. We do have an investigation on our hands and the Royal Family is counting on us to find out what really happened to the King."

"Yes Master"

As the two Farore Knights emerged from the carriage, a sense of happiness swept over the small group.

"It is truly great to see you again my old friend" said Master Wilhs to Kamoura.

"As it is with you, and I see your apprentice is getting stronger by the day. I would very much like to see his abilities with a sword someday" said Master Kamoura with much enthusiasm.

"Oh I promise you, he will not disappoint. Now on to business, where exactly does the royal court need us to begin?"

As the two masters continued their conversation, Nikalai and Maiku took the opportunity to catch up with one another.

"So then my master came at me with his blade and I finally got the parry strokes right!" claimed Nikalai with enthusiasm.

"Awesome! My master likes to over rate my abilities a lot, but I guess I don't do so badly." Said Maiku with some sarcasm

"We'll set something up someday! I would love to see what were truly made of!

"Yeah!" The two apprentices began to laugh at each others enthusiasm for swordplay

The two masters then turned to them

"We must go inside, they await our presence…Nikalai, Maiku, come. It is time you both truly got to see the splendor and beauty of Hyrule Castle." Said Master Wilhs

With much enthusiasm, and smiles on their faces, the two young learners nodded to each other, and followed their masters inside the castle grounds.

**A/N: Well theres chapter 1! Yesss! Alright well I just want to let you guys know that I have started school again, so chapters may be few and far between, but I promise I will utilize any spare time I have to bringing you new chapters. Thanks!!**

**DarkLink227**


	2. Tracking the War Lord Jabin

**Nope, I don't own Zelda, but for the love of God I wish I did.**

**Knights of the Realm: Book 2**

**Chapter 2**

**Tracking the War Lord Jabin**

Walking through the halls of Hyrule Castle would be a once in a lifetime privilege for any commoner of the kingdom. Fortunately, for the knights of Hyrule, it was an almost daily necessity.

Nikalai and Maiku could not help but gape at the magnificence of the beautiful castle. Looking around, they saw the portraits of all the former kings of Hyrule. Coming across one painting, they saw the portraits of three men. One was holding a blade of magnificent green, one was holding a blade of beautiful blue, and one was holding a blade of blood red.

"Magnificent aren't they?" asked Master Kamoura to his young companions.

"Yes master, I find this one to be the most striking of all" replied Nikalai.

"The three heroes who drove out the Gerudo tyrant Lord Damius Izjabal Dragmire from his conquest of Hyrule over two hundred years ago. Such noble warriors with incredibly powerful swords."

"Master, what ever happened to those three swords?" asked Nikalai curiously.

With this question, Master Kamoura seemed to enter a state of semi-concern plus admiration.

"No one knows for sure, my young apprentice, but there are many rumors as to their whereabouts. Many say the Sword of Courage is hidden deep within the woods of Faron, past the Lost Woods of the Kokiri and just beyond the River of Tears, towards the south. The Sword of Wisdom is supposedly hidden deep under Lake Hylia, although no one really knows because the strong currents always push away the brave Hylian divers who excavate that region. It is said only the Zora know of its true whereabouts.

"And what of the Sword of Power master?" asked Nikalai eagerly.

Master Kamoura stopped and looked at his apprentice, feeling a dread inside of him that he had not felt for many years. Ever since Master Kamoura began taking apprentices, he had made it specifically clear that the Sword of Power was the only one of the three whose whereabouts were not known. Reluctant as he was to reveal the information of its true whereabouts, he could not help but feel a strong surge in the aura surrounding his young apprentice. He always knew, from the day that his apprenticeship started, that Nikalai would be special indeed. Considering who his father was, and where his heritage ran from, naturally he would become one of the most, if not the most powerful warrior that Hyrule had ever seen.

However, this sense of pride would not deter the old Warrior of Din, for he remembered well the story of the Blade of Power, and the vision had by King Wilhs I, about the sword falling into the hands of evil.

"The Sword of Power does not exist anymore, young Nikalai. No one is exactly sure how it was destroyed, or who destroyed it, but all that we know about it is that its last weilder was consumed with an insatiable hatred for the land of Hyrule, and nearly destroyed it….I was your age when the final battle took place, and what a magnificent battle it was."

Before Master Kamoura could go into further depth of his story, a royal messenger suddenly entered the room.

"Master Kamoura, the queen will see you now"

"Very well, Come Nikalai, Maiku, we must attend to our royal host."

"Yes master" said both students in unison, as they left the room, Nikalai took one last glance at the painting. Not totally convinced that his master had told him the entire truth about the Sword of Power, he could only think to himself where the holy blade may rest now….no sword of the goddesses could possibly be destroyed by a mere mortal.

As the two masters and apprentices entered the throne room, they could see a grieving young woman, probably old enough to be Nikalai's mother. Queen Maurena was an absolute wreck since the news of her husbands death arrived. She would lock herself in her room for days, refusing to eat or even to attend the mourning processions. Believing her husband to still be alive, the day she went to the funeral was when reality finally hit her, and it hit her hard.

She was reluctant to order an investigation into his death, being that she was not even through her time of mourning. However, the Hylian High Council was getting fed up with the people demanding to know what happened in Ikana. The people were hungry for an all out war with the rival nation, and Hyrule would have no choice but to declare war unless the investigation could prove that foul play was not a factor in the king's death.

"Queen Laurena, the Order of Farore is deeply saddened by the loss of your husband, he was a powerful leader, and we will all miss serving him deeply." Said Master Wilhs.

"As is the Order of Din m'lady, it was indeed an honor to fight for the king, he was always a gracious and loving man." Said Master Kamoura.

"I thank you both for your condolences, and I appreciate everything the Hylian Knights are doing to help with the loss of my husband" said the queen. "However, you must understand how important this investigation is, the people are demanding war with Ikana, and I must put an end to this upheaval. Hyrule cannot afford to go to war with a nation that we already have weak relations with. My husband was the only link to peace with Ikana since him and the Ikanan King were so close as friends, but now that he is gone, that link has been severed."

"Speaking on behalf of the Order of Farore, m'lady, the Hylian Knights wish to avoid war with Ikana at all costs, we are keepers of the peace, and there are not enough of us to fight the entire Ikanan Grand Army" said Master Wilhs." " They have been trained in the ways of war for so many years they have neared perfection."

"You sound almost afraid to fight them, Master Wilhs!" said a high voice from the back of the throne room.

"Gentlemen, I trust you remember Master Kajnah, head of the Order of Nayru." Said the queen. "I have brought him here as a military advisor for myself and the Hylian High Council."

The two masters looked disgusted upon hearing this news. Master Kajnah was not, by any means of the definition, a warrior. Raised in a royal household, he began his training in the Order of Nayru at a very young age, and was given special treatment by the masters of the order. However, when it came to swordsmanship and fighting, his cowardice and cockiness far outweighed his courage. He ran from the battle of Faron during the Kindling Wars ten years before, and because of his connections and supposed 'heroism under fire', he was given the highest military honors and promoted to General. By the time the battle of Deku Swamp came, it was more than obvious that his promotion had been a huge mistake. All of his men were killed, missing, or wounded, and had no way of getting back to the Hylian borders for medical attention. 'Bravely' accepting his responsibility, he made the trip himself in a full military uniform to go get help. His exploit ended him up in a brothel for two nights, and finally reaching the reinforcements by morning, he was too late. Only nine of the three hundred men under his command in the swamps came back alive. When the nine knights reported his negligence and demanded that he be removed from the position of general, the Order of Nayru stripped the knights of their rank and banished them from the order. After that battle, the Order of Nayru removed all blame from General Kajnah's record and successfully deployed a second wave of knights to overtake the swamp. After the swamps were conquered, he was promoted to the rank of Master, and given the Medal of Courage for leading his doomed command into the 'jaws of destiny.' After that, his rank, pay, and not to mention ego, soared. Completely convinced of his own self-importance, Master Kajnah continually stated that the Order of Nayru was truly superior, putting down the other two orders and gaining favor in the royal court.

This debacle was noticed immediately, most especially by Master Wilhs, who had an absolute distaste for the man who turned out to be, in his opinion, one of the worst failures the Order of Nayru had ever created.

"Master Kajnah, it has truly been too long" said Master Wilhs courteously.

"Not long enough, I say, but of course distasteful times land you in the company of distasteful people" said Master Kajnah with all the smug and nerve that he was known so famously for.

"Yes, well Master Kajnah, perhaps you would like to share with us your plan for how we should proceed with this investigation?" said Master Kamoura, hinting a challenge to the conceited Master.

"But of course, how could I not share it with such an esteemed warrior as yourself Master Kamoura?" Said Master Kajnah.

"I have no interest in your smug flattery, we are on the brink of war and we wish to avoid it at all costs, I don't believe you know a thing about that do you?" said Master Kamoura with all the distaste and tenacity he had for the younger master.

"Gentlemen, please, all rivalries and personal feelings aside, we must proceed with this investigation" said the Queen."Now, Master Kajnah, please share all you know with Master Wilhs and Master Kamoura, cooperation will help us greatly in this matter."

"Yes m'lady, please have a seat gentlemen, I shall show you everything we have learned about the battle in which the king was killed."

"From reports that were given to us by our spies and inside agents, the most likely place of death was here, at the mouth of the Ikana Canyon. The enemy had a complete advantage in position, and the fact that the kings force was at the very floor of the canyon didn't help much either."

"We have determined, from our most reliable inside source, that the man leading forces in the canyon was a warlord named Jabin. He has a reputation for being ruthless in battle, and uses tactics that seem, by all means, to be the most brutal anyone had ever seen. With any luck, this is the man we are looking for, and we must bring him in. His capture is essential if we are to discover the true nature of these recent events."

Hearing Kajnah talk about the king absolutely disgusted the two masters, he spoke of him as a technicality and an object, not a person. However, being that they both knew the king personally, they decided that the best course of action would be to go on this information.

"If this truly is the most reliable of information, then I say we go on it" said Master Wilhs," we want this investigation to take as short a time as possible, since our common goal is to avoid an all out war."

"I agree" said Master Kamoura, "The capture of this warlord will give us the information we need. If he is truly the culprit, then we will bring him to justice, and spare the people of both nations from anymore suffering than has already been dealt."

"Very well then gentlemen, you will both leave in two days time, and bring your apprentices with you, their skills may be useful to you both in this time of uncertainty. Good luck to you all, and may the goddesses be with you" Said the Queen.

"Yes M'Lady."


	3. Lessons at Dawn

**Once again, fellow enthusiasts, I don't own this incredible franchise we all love to call The Legend of Zelda…and even if I did, I wouldn't change a damn thing.**

**Knights of the Realm 2**

**Chapter 3**

**Lessons at Dawn**

Early mornings in Hyrule were truly a sight to behold. The purple haze of dawn and the incredible sunrise that followed could not be compared to any sight or wonder in the world. It stood, truly, in its own league.

The past two days had given Master Kamoura a lot to think about. Sure he was incredibly disgusted that Master Kajnah was leading the investigation, and that Queen Maurena had pretty much gone along with the idea, but the thought of serving under such a coward made him angry beyond comparison. His loyalties were with Hyrule, not with a fool.

Despite all of this however, he had come to the realization that all personal feeling must be put aside. The death of the king truly disturbed him the most out of anyone in the group, being that he was the one who trained Marcos Harkinian when he was a young man. The thought of death was bad enough, but to imagine losing such a promising and powerful student like Marcos just sickened him.

"_It was I who trained him, I am one of the greatest swordsman that has ever walked the fields of Hyrule! How could I still live and my student, my king, be dead by a fool who couldn't even win a fight against Master Kajnah?"_

Ignoring his own sorrow, Master Kamoura went to the room of young Nikalai to wake him for his morning training.

"Get up apprentice! Your training is everything!" Shouted Master Kamoura

"Yes Master!" said Nikalai, who had become accustomed to the typical shouts and orders issued to an apprentice by his master, as is customary in the Order of Din. A warriors anger and inner passions were their strength, and if they let up on it, even for a moment, it could be lethal for them.

"Get dressed and grab your saber, meet me in the sparring room, you have two minutes, now move!" said Master Kamoura

Grabbing both of their swords, the two went to the sparring room. Anyone who laid eyes on the sword of Master Kamoura would have thought the goddesses themselves had created it. The blade itself was made of rare Dodongo ore, which was not only stronger than the creature it was named after, but was also practically weightless. Its tempering and rolling gave it an edge that never dulled, and since it was so light, any kind of blade could be created and the weilder would have complete control over its movement and power. But the blade itself was not the main wonder of Master Kamoura's sword, the hilt was. It was entirely unconventional, curved and completely odd to any untrained swordsman. However, there was a purpose for his creation of a curved hilt sword. His style of fighting maintained that he had to be completely accurate with each stroke of the blade. Every parry, every counter, every slice had to be perfect, and the curved hilt, along with a blade that was lighter than a feather, allowed him to achieve this level of accuracy when facing any opponent.

Nikalai had admired his masters abilities, and never could have dreamt of the day that he would ever defeat him in a duel. His skills as a swordsman, even at his age, were completely unmatched. Even though Nikalai knew he would learn from the best, he never would dare think that he would ever surpass his master.

"Take your stance apprentice!"

"Yes Master!"

The two circled each other, with Nikalai striking first. A hard overhead slice was quickly blocked by Kamoura's blade. Countering with a quick slice to Nikalai's shoulder region, he was only able to block it just in time before he was cut. Nikalai's preferred style of fighting maintained that he use his brute strength, along with his swordsmanship skills, to defeat an opponent by physically, and in turn psychologically, overwhelming them. As he pushed back his masters blade with a hard push, he continually assaulted Kamoura with deadly and physically powerful swings that would have quickly disarmed a lesser opponent. But even though he was old, Master Kamoura was no fool. His economy of movement and the ability to turn and opponents offense into his own downfall worked well to his advantage, and even in his old age, he could take and defeat a cocky young fool who was at least sixty years younger than him.

"Stop using your standard attacks Nikalai! Use the unorthodox! Surprise me! You wouldn't want this old man to get bored now would you?" taunted Master Kamoura

Angered, Nikalai quickly pushed his masters blade aside with a powerful swing, and used the Tai-Kus power of summoning to bring another sword to him. Switching to a two handed style certainly surprised Master Kamoura, but it did not worry him in the least bit. Using two swords in a duel was definitely unorthodox, and in Master Kamoura's opinion, distasteful, but he knew that no enemy of Hyrule would ever revert to the 'gentlemens way' of resolving things in a fight.

He was now even more hard pressed to hold off his apprentice's relentless assault. "_He's been practicing well with the aggressive form" _thought Kamoura to himself. Soon however, he was quickly becoming exhausted from the continual barrage of Nikalai's attacks, and decided to end the training session with a lesson. With a quick counter, Kamoura sliced Nikalai's hand, weakening his grip on the sword. Being taught to feel no pain, Nikalai did not cry, but did lose his grip on his second sword. Kamoura knocked the blade from Nikalai's hand and hit him with the butt of his sword hilt, knocking him to the ground with a hard thud.

Standing victorious over his apprentice, Master Kamoura quickly sheathed his sword and held his hand out to his young student, helping him to the ground.

"What was your lesson here, Nikalai?"

"That the powers of brute strength and surprise will never defeat the powers of experience and intelligence." Stated Nikalai.

"You are correct, my apprentice. Your summoning of the second sword and you switching to your aggressive two blade form was indeed surprising, and it kept me on my toes for quite some time. However, you forget that physical strength will never defeat an opponent who is smarter. Strong as you may be Nikalai, and as impressive as your abilities are, you must become stronger in the mind first, and then your fighting spirit will eventually prevail. Remember always the first thing I taught you, first fight with your head, then with your heart."

"Yes master, I will remember your lesson well," said Nikalai.

"Good, now go wash up, we must eat a good breakfast, we have a long journey ahead of us today, we wouldn't want to be exhausted before we got there."

"Sheath your blade Maiku, we've sparred enough for one day." Said Master Wihls

"Yes Master," replied Maiku

The sparring session between the two was not as intense as it usually would be, and both had to admit, it was more refreshing than exhausting.

"Maiku we must be getting ready soon, we are to meet Master Kamoura and Nikalai in an hour. Better go get dressed."

"Yes master, but I was meaning to talk to you before we left," said Maiku

"Well what is on your mind, my young apprentice?" asked Master Wihls.

"Master, I know you've explained this to so many other knights, and you've explained it to me as well, but I must truly know, why did you pick me to be your apprentice? You could have easily picked your own son, or even Nikalai for that matter, but you chose me instead."

Master Wihls admired his apprentice's spirit and courage, to ask such a question could very easily be misinterpreted as lack of discipline and desire for knighthood, but Master Wihls knew his apprentice much better than he thought.

"Maiku, you must understand more about the Hylian Knights if you truly want an honest answer to that question," stated Master Wihls.

"I'm sorry master, I don't quite understand."

"The very title that we serve stands for one thing, loyalty to the defense of our kingdom and our country. That oath alone is the very reason we are both here training together. The knighthood of Hyrule should not be limited to just Hylians, but to all people of all races who live in our kingdom. Each race has their own strengths to offer our kingdom. The Goron's have their brute strength, the Zora have their underwater fighting skills, the Kokiri have their overwhelming courage, even the Gerudo have the fighting spirit to carry on and survive through even the hardest of tasks. We all have our strengths Maiku, and all the knights of Hyrule must see that courage, strength and spirit are not limited to just Hylians, but embraces all people."

Listening admiringly to his master speak, Maiku could not help but feel overwhelmed. His masters words had hit home, and he was further inspired.

"Master, I really am grateful that you have taken me in, I promise to make you proud…I promise to be one of the strongest knights in this land, and I will serve Hyrule well."

"And I'm sure you will Maiku, however first thing is first, lets go get some breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'm hungrier than a Goron in a rock mine," said Master Wihls.

Amused, Maiku dressed himself quickly, anticipating the day ahead, and the challenge to see what kind of warrior his master had truly shaped him into.


	4. Author's Update

Update

Alright whats up guys, so heres the deal, school is OVER yess!! Unfortunately this will only be until the 18th, but don't worry, in the next two weeks you will see more chapters coming up, and the plot is thickening don't you worry, it is thickening

Ok now to answer a few questions

Number 1

I had some questions from a few readers about the characters in this story, being that none of them are from the original storyline. I realize this is a bit of an unorthodox story and I must ask you to please stay and read it. I know many people aren't comfortable with stories that go outside the bounds of the original plot, I never did either but finally decided to give it a try, and I think so far its been pretty fun.

Yes, Master Kamoura is a lot like Count Dooku from Star Wars, he is in fact the more than obvious inspiration for this characters creation

Maiku is the Zora hero from Majora's Mask, and yeah I know I spelt it wrong lol. I will be using other characters from that game as well. Darmani will make an appearance, as well as the King of Ikana. We don't learn a lot about them in the game, so hopefully I can shed some light on their mysterious backgrounds.

Number 2

I'm trying to incorporate aspects from ALL of the games in the series so far, except for phantom hourglass which I haven't played yet.

Number 3

Veran, General Onox, Vaati, Aghanim, and other minor villains will appear, but be prepared for a few interesting twists!

And finally the big Number 4

Link, Zelda, Sheik, and the other heroes won't be making an appearance in this story as of yet, I still haven't decided if im going to wait on it or not. Sheik may have a slight cameo, but as I said, its still sketchy.

Anyway guys, keep on reading! Check out book 1 if your bored and want to catch up. Its not the greatest but still give it a chance.

LATER!

DarkLink227


	5. The Dream and a Wayward Journey

KOR 2

Chapter 4

The Dream and a Wayward Journey

_Silence was all Master Kamoura could hear, he peered at himself through the mirror that suddenly appeared in front of him. He was young again...at least younger than he was now. He looked to be in his forties, a time in his life in which he never wanted to remember ever again. He peered into the long and dark realms of the abyss before him, unable to see or make out where he even was. It was something he had always dreaded, being in darkness, even with his master swordsmanship and incredible insight, Master Kamoura was still, by all means, human. With that unfortunate burden also came the things most humans feel, fear of what they cannot see. His life was nothing but darkness, nothing but tragedy, and he feared losing another person who was close to him. Though he would never admit it openly, his feelings for his apprentice and his comrades had been a strong deterrence of his oath to remain solitary. _

_Suddenly, the abyss became clear. He was on a battlefield, and in the middle of a battle he remembered all too well, regardless of its place in history, the battle was the most personal and tragic in his entire life. Years before, assassins and bounty hunters began picking off members of the revered Amoura family, the direct decendents of general Raquid Amoura, who with his last breath had given his life so that the evil Gerudo tyrant, Damius Izjabal Dragmire, would never again lay tyranny across the land he loved so much. The family had made a decision that would haunt the lands of Hyrule for another thirty years. The Amoura family would split, one side keeping the revered last name, and the other renaming themselves Kamoura so as to throw off the assassins destroying their family. It seemed a wise decision considering the outbreak of the Kindling Wars the year before had only doubled the intensity of the assassination attempts. The Amoura's were a family of warriors, and as such their training and fighting skills were revered beyond that of any other family in Hyrule. When they split, the family Amoura remained within Hyrule's borders to protect the land, and the Kamoura family would fight outside the borders, throwing off the attacks of the vicious rebel uprising that had taken place in the Subrosia Province. _

_It was a folly beyond all compare. The more time the Kamoura family spent outside the borders, the less they knew of the political environment that was changing back home. The Amoura family had become rich, powerful, and had thrown themselves into the deepest pools of corruption. With the wars coming to an end, and the Kamoura family warriors reaping the spoils of heroism and valor, the head of the Amoura family, Malak Amoura, became incredibly envious of them. In his blind anger, he rallied the forces of Hyrule to wipe out the Subrosia Province and all who were there, Hylian or Subrosian, he did not care. The peace talks that had taken so long to set up between the two warring sides were shattered in an instant when Hylian forces pounced down on the diplomats. They were all slaughtered, and the infighting that had ceased between Subrosians and the Hylians stationed in their province started again. Almost immediately, the Kamoura family was all but wiped out by the Hylian forces sent to kill them and the Subrosians they had finally become so fond and understanding of. _

_Master Kamoura remembered it as it happened, he was only one of two family members left, and had rallied the Subrosian forces who trusted him against the Hylian army sent to kill them. This action was the biggest mistake of his entire career as a Hylian Knight. The thought of the Kamoura family fighting back was seen as treasonous, and an onslaught of both Hylian land and sea forces pounced on the helpless province. This decision to do what was right, what Master Kamoura knew was the right thing to do, had led the two sides into fighting that would last another thirty years. _

_On the field, he saw Malak, who by all means of geneaology was his biological brother. He had fought long and hard against his brother, both in their old age, and pleaded with him to stop the fighting immediately. Malak did not care what Master Kamoura had to say, he was angry and wanted glory. His family was all dead, the Amoura family was completely dead except for him, and a revered grandson that Malak intended to train as his direct warrior decendent. Finally, Master Kamoura had had enough, hurt by the betrayal of his own blood and the loss of his entire family in the wars, he gave into rage and killed Malak with one swift cut to the head. Beheaded, and lacking leadership, the Hylian army surrendered, ending the Kindling Wars once and for all. An abrupt end to the most destructive war since the invasion of the Gerudo almost two thousand years ago. _

_Lost and broken, with no one to call friend or a place to call home, Master Kamoura did the one and only thing he could think to do...find his brothers grandson, he would not allow him to grow up without a family. In all the ironies of war, the only two decendants left of the revered Amoura family were him, Master Kamoura, and his young nephew..._

"Master...master!," yelled Nikalai as he tried to wake his master from his slumber.

"What is it Nikalai?" asked Master Kamoura with a slight bit of annoyance

"We've arrived at the borders of Ikana, Master. And i dont want to jump the gun, but those men outside don't look too friendly." said Nikalai

"They probably arent, my young apprentice, but we will deal with that in any way possible if it should come down to that." stated Master Kamoura

"Come on everyone," said Master Whills, "we must meet the men outside, and you should stay on your guard, they dont look like they want to talk, they look like they want to fight."

"Yes Master," said Nikalai and Maiku as they followed him outside the carriage.

Master Kamoura waited behind for a bit, trying to comprehend the dream he had and the reason why now, in his old age, he was becoming scared of what might become of the future of Hyrule...and his young apprentice.

_"The nightmares will never end," _he thought to himself. _"I can only hope the fate of Nikalai will be different than that of his grandfather...or his father..._

**OK OK I KNOW, its been ages since this story has been updated, lots of personal life things have kept me from completing this story, and it wont be finished for a while, but trust me when i say this is going to get dramatic, tragic, and downright fun to read! Enjoy!**


	6. Ikana: The Gates of Hell

-1Knights of the Realm 2

Chapter 5

Ikana: The Gates of Hell

The long journey from Hyrule Castle had finally brought the knights to the border if Ikana. Rumors of this lands deathly evil and desolate appearance almost made it seem impossible that anyone could actually call this place their home. But the Ikanians had done it, centuries ago in fact. They were human as the Hylians were, but in all aspects, they were not the same as Hylians. They could not connect themselves to the Tai-kus powers that radiated from the Triforce. It didn't really matter though, just because they lacked the superhuman callings of magic and the power of the goddesses didn't mean that they couldn't fight, or even conquer the Hylians for that matter. They had a massive army, and their special forces had a magic all their own, completely out of bounds from that of the Tai-kus that connected Hylians to the supernatural world of magic. Ikanian Slayers dressed themselves head to toe in black robes, and made themselves so frightening that all you could see of them was their radiant amber colored eyes. Their attacks began by surrounding their opponents in a circle of fire, making it impossible to escape…..It was either fight and win, with the prize being your life, or fight and lose, the cost of which was your life. There would be no surrender, no cowards, and absolutely no retreat, if you chose to fight and Ikanian Slayer, it was either live to tell about it or go to the grave with knowledge that you never stood a chance in the first place. And more often than not, the outcome was the latter. Their frightening appearance, paired with their ability to fight ambidextrously, gave not only a psychologically demoralizing effect, but also a physical battle more intense than the flames used to encircle their opponents.

This land wasn't like Hyrule either, its desolation and inhospitable appearance gave the impression that there was nothing for the people who lived here. However, the Ikanian government prided itself on one thing and one thing only, war. The war industry in Ikana was so extensive and their military buildup so vast that other nations, many of whom wishing to create empires of their own, turned to them for military support. Ikana would never refuse a paying customer, it helped their nation financially and gave many civilians new and important jobs. However, Ikana also knew that there was no way any nation would be able to match its superior fighting army and special forces, so it would never bother them to support a potentially dangerous country. Ikanian war products were the best, they were strong, reliable, and would last for many years before their designs were updated. They built everything on the basis of simplicity and easy accessibility, so much so that it would be fair to say that a nine year old would be able to pick up and successfully use an Ikanian crossbow without any trouble.

These very attributes of Ikanian military and financial power are what scared Hyrule the most. They knew the power Ikanian war machines had, so the thought of war was indeed frightening. But Hyrule had weapons of her own. Advanced technology had given Hyrule such weapons as a gas-powered cross bow, a fully automatic nightmare which retained the firepower of ten men using a standard Ikanian crossbow, which was semi-automatic. The technology and weapons each side produced were never tested between the two nations, however. Instead, other nations did the fighting and testing for them. Hyrule dealt with outside nations as much as Ikana did, though their weapons were considerably more expensive, they were also much more advanced . But in turn, the more advanced they were, the more there was that could go wrong with them, which is why most nations preferred Ikanian weapons.

The two nations were at a standpoint with each other, almost ready for war when the King of Hyrule, Marcos Harkinain, and the King of Ikana, Igos du Ikan, finally came to a solution that put all tensions at ease. They had gone hunting together one day to test a Hylian crossbow and an Ikanian crossbow to see which one was more powerful. As it had turned out, both of them were mechanically equal, neither shooting farther than the other, but neither outdoing the other either. The two kings had found themselves in amusement, how is it that the two nations had so much tension between each other and could not see themselves as equal when two of their most powerful weapons could do that. "If weapons could see themselves as equals, "stated King Harkinian, "then why is it that we cannot?"

It was on another trip several months later that King du Ikan had confided in Harkinian that his chief War Lord, Jabin, had expressed serious notions of rebellion against King du Ikan's rule of Ikana. "He told me my rulings weren't fair, that good people wanted more than just freedom, they wanted to be exempt from monarchy and control…they want their own government, and their own representatives. They want what Hyrule has Marcos….I just do not see how they can be ready for such a thing when they have had the freedom to choose all their lives." He was clearly distressed by it. "They choose their careers, they choose their loves, they choose everything they want, how is it they want more?"

King Harkinian was silent. He could say nothing to his dear friend, for it was he that Jabin was talking about. Ikana looked to Hyrules example consistently ever since the two nations had become friends, sure he was the King, but his power only went so far. Hylian civilians basically chose who they wanted to run each province, they had representatives from each province sitting on the Hylian High Council. Each had their own provinces interest in mind, and at the head of that council was King Harkinian. The representatives voted, and if one side outweighed the other, he would make those votes into law. Ikana on the other hand was completely ruled by the king. He made his choices based completely on the financial needs of the country, and so far it had prospered greatly. The people were living well, the war industry was booming, and almost everyone had a job…..so what more could they want? 

The two kings confided in one another for the next three years, until the Ikanian rebellion had become a reality. Now King Harkinian was dead, Jabin was blamed for it, and King du Ikan wished the Hylian Knights to investigate the matter.

The four knights of the realm whom Queen Maurena had sent to him….

As they exited their carriage, Master Kamoura, Master Wilhs, Nikalai, and Maiku were finally standing face to face with hundreds of Ikanian soldiers, crossbows at the ready…..no one would ever suspect it three months before, but they were at war whether they liked it or not. All hope, as the four knights looked into the onslaught of crossbows and soldiers, seemed to shatter in an instant.

The four warriors had entered, it seemed, the very gates of Hylian Hell…..

**C L I F F H A N G E R ! HAHA, oh don't worry though, you'll like this next one! **


	7. A Scandal Unforseen

-1Knights of the Realm Book 2

Chapter 6

A Scandal Unforeseen

"Draw your sabers! Get your shields, were not going down without a fight!" shouted Master Kamoura

The four knights took their attack stances, swords drawn, ready to fight, ready to destroy the soldiers in front of them. Master Kamoura looked ready to kill everything in his way, his saber at the ready, he twisted his sword hand around his body, his saber flying all around him. The Ikanian soldiers made no outward signs of surprise, but they had never seen a technique as advanced as this. His Tai-kus powers were absolutely radiant around him as his saber created a shield of fire around his entire body. It would deflect everything they fired at him back to the person who fired it.

"Who are you," asked the soldier at the front. He was dressed differently from everyone else, he had a red beret and an insignia of commander. He was obviously the one in charge.

Master Kamoura had immediately stopped at this question, didn't these men know they were coming? Its been the biggest news between the royal courts of both countries, how would he ask this question?

"We are the Knights of Hyrule sent to investigate our kings death in your land, you should have been expecting us, your king has been."

"He has informed me of no such party coming into our land, I am commander of the border armies and I would know of such a thing." said the soldier

"How could he have not told you?!" asked Master Wihls furiously, "its been the biggest news between our countries for the last two weeks!"

"I'm sorry Master Knight but we have orders to turn away all foreign dignitaries and military officials, no one gets past this point without permission from his majesty."

"This is impossible, we have been expected! You cannot turn us away and we will not leave until we have accomplished our mission!" said Master Wilhs. "We will not leave, no matter what you say!"

"Then you leave us no choice," said the commander, "Men, ready your crossbows."

"Belay that order commander!" said a voice from behind the lines, "You are not to fire at the men who have come to save our country."

The soldiers looked confused, as did the knights of Hyrule, who was this man that had such audacity as to tell over one hundred well armed Ikanian soldiers to hold their fire?

"Who are you?! You dare to stop me and my men? You have no authority here fool!" said the commander

He immediately regretted his words, for the strange man withdrew a saber of his own, and slammed the sharp point right through the commanders neck, killing him instantly. The soldiers around him made no moves to stop him or to save their commander, almost as if they had let him get away with murder.

The four knights went immediately on the defensive, drawing their sabers and taking their stances once again. Nikalai and Maiku were confused beyond all reason, how could a man they had never even heard of command such obedience from soldiers as stalwart and zealous as the Ikanians?

"Who are you and why did you kill him" asked Master Kamoura

"You may not believe what I am about to tell you Master Knight," said the mysterious man, "but I'm telling you the absolute truth, you have been set up by someone in your own royal court to believe that King Harkinian's death was caused by me." said the man. "You have been betrayed, and I know exactly who it is."

"Wait, we are to believe it was you who killed our king?" asked Maiku, "then that means….no, you cant be!"

"Yes, young Zora, I am the Ikanian war lord Jabin, and right now, my men and I are the only allies you have in this country."


End file.
